State govt to launch campaign against cancer

With an aim to fight cancer, the state government has decided to launch massive campaign against the disease.

The decision was taken prior to the World Cancer Day which is on Thursday. Special awareness drive will be conducted to create awareness. Eye cancer has become quite common among children and their lives can be saved if the parents take them to doctors when children complained of irritation in eyes, a doctor said.

Similarly, ovarian and breast cancer have become rampant among women and doctors said they should examine their breast once a week, and if any tumor is detected, they should immediately report it to a doctor.

Hundreds and thousands of people have died because of cancer. At present, the statistics confirm that the disease’s top spot in the list of life-threatening illnesses. Cancer has become the second biggest killer after heart disease in India. Data from the WHO World Cancer Report released in 2015 indicates that in India, there are 7 lakh new cancer cases per year, killing over 3.5 lakh people.

Experts fear that this count is only expected to rise in the next 10-15 years, which makes it crucial to focus on new and more effective cancer treatments – in addition to the focus on prevention and diagnostics – and bolster the momentum of clinical research in our country. The demographic distribution of different kinds of cancers in our country also makes it important to invest in local clinical research so that we can find more effective solutions for cancers that affect our population.

The doctors have advised not to take salty food and do exercise for at least half-an-hour every day. They said the patients should do cancer screening every month. “One should not be scared as cancer can be treated and the patient can enjoy normal life.”